Deutsch L.A. has been busy over the past week reacquainting us with The Golden Sisters, making a pretty good case for bacon being delicious and reminding us that David Beckham is famous.
In its most recent work, the Deutsch team managed to tie sport wagons to sea creatures in a short documentary and accompanying interactive campaign for longtime client Volkswagen.
It’s a partnership between the car company and Discovery, the network behind your favorite nature shows and another “documentary” on the secret lives of mermaids (40 percent of respondents say they might be real!).
See, VW is getting into the PR game: it wants to improve these sharks’ reputations. Listen to the handsome man with the Australian accent! More importantly, listen to the music of the London Symphony Orchestra:
Sharks aren’t out to get us. Like bears and tigers and people who work in accounts, they’re far more interested in defending their own than eating people…unless you fuck with their kids.
Maybe Discovery and VW can help save more sharks. The eight reported attacks that have hit North Carolina beaches in the last five weeks don’t seem to have discouraged many tourists, so we might be in the mood to recast sharks as Disney heroes instead of the villains they seem destined to be.
The campaign’s website is interesting in that it allows viewers to use eye-tracking technology to compare the shark footage with classic, Jaws-style music and the newer, more saccharine score. It also dares to ask the question “Golf Sportwagen or Shark?”
It’s already working; we’re far more scared of these credits than any similarly overstuffed Great White.
Volkswagen Credits:
President, CEO: Michael Horn
VP, Marketing: Vinay Shahani
GM, Marketing & Communications: Jennifer Clayton
Advertising Manager: Chanel Arola
Advertising Analyst: Steve Kuzemchak
Graduate VW Marketing Analyst: Megan Gross
Deutsch Credits:
Creative Credits
Chief Creative Officer, North America: Pete Favat
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Executive Integrated Producer: Erik Press
Chief Digital Officer, North America: Winston Binch
Group Creative Director: Heath Pochucha
Digital Executive Creative Director: Jerome Austria
Creative Director: Zaid Al-Asady
Digital Creative Director: Daniel Barak
Lead Copywriter: Shiran Teitelbaum
Lead Art Director: Alice Blastorah
Senior Digital Designer: Erin Burell
Senior Art Director: Neph Trejo
Senior Art Director: Charlie Brandwick
Copywriter: Newton Cox
Senior Art Director: Rocio Alvarado
Senior Copywriter: Marijke van Niekerk
Junior Art Director: Chelsea Brown
Junior Copywriter: Brittany Hirsch
Music Director: Dave Rocco
Associate Music Producer: Eryk Rich
Technology and Digital Production Credits
Executive Director of Digital: Pam Scheideler
Creative Technology Director: Martin Legowiecki
Executive Integrated Producer: Nick Ngai
Digital Producer: Jenny Court
QA Manager: Chris Suchy
Account Management Credits
Group Account Director: Tom Else
Group Account Director: Monica Jungbeck
Account Director: Alex Gross
Account Supervisor: Aleks Rzeznik
Campaign Lead, Account Executive: Renee Mansfield
Campaign Lead, Assistant Account Executive: Kiki Staszak
Assistant Account Executive: Harry Osborne
Director of Product Information: Jason Clark
Product Information Supervisor: Eddie Chae
Account Planning
Chief Strategic Officer: Colin Drummond
Group Planning Director: Susie Lyons
Senior Account Planner: Armando Potter
Associate Digital Strategy: Brendon Volpe
Junior Account Planner: Carly Starratt
Business Affairs/Traffic
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Group Director Integrated Business Affairs: Gabriela Farias
Business Affairs Manager: Jade McAdams
Executives
CEO, North America: Mike Sheldon
President, Los Angeles: Kim Getty
Discovery Credits:
On-Air
SVP Ad Sales Marketing: Ian Parmiter
SVP Marketing: Lara Richardson
VP Ad Sales Marketing: Mark Lewis
VP Branded Entertainment: Jen Pennybacker
VP Discovery Creative: Mary Claire Baquet
VP Discovery Creative: Matt Katzive
VP Head of Production: Marley Bunce
Director: Christina Bavetta
Supervising Producer: Mike Baireuther
Supervising Producer: Gina Scarpulla
Senior Art Director: Joe Moccia
Line Producer: Jim O’Donnell
Editor: Aaron Moore
Editor: Bartley Powers
Executive Producer: Tara Belkin
Producer: Dione Li
Associate Producer: Jesse Rugless
Production Manager: Daniel Oleksiuk
Digital
VP Digital Ad Sales Marketing: Connie Bass
Creative Director: Leigh Solomon
SR Front-End Developer: Frank Batista
SR Front-End Developer: Madeleine Villavicencio
Supervising Producer/Editor: Kate Pfetsch
Executive Producer: Joy Montefusco
Executive Producer: Jason Robey
Producer: Dan Carter
SR Visual Designer: Diego Molina
Interactive Visual Designer: Jennifer Kaye
Design Intern: Stefani Rey
Music Credits:
Composer: Josh Ralph